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1972-73 NHL season
The 1972-73 NHL season was the 56th season of the National Hockey League. Sixteen teams each played 78 games. For the first time since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926, the National Hockey League had serious competition. A new professional hockey league, the World Hockey Association, made its season debut with 12 new teams, many of which were based in the same cities as NHL teams. Unlike the Western Hockey League, though, the new World Hockey Association would not challenge for the Stanley Cup. In response to the new league, the NHL hastily added two new teams in an unplanned expansion, the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames, in an attempt to exclude the WHA from newly constructed arenas in those markets. The first thing the WHA did was sign Bobby Hull, and the Chicago Black Hawks sued, claiming a violation of the reserve clause in NHL contracts. Others soon followed Hull to the WHA, including Bernie Parent, J.C. Tremblay, Ted Green, Gerry Cheevers and Johnny McKenzie. In the expansion draft, the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames made their picks and eleven Islander players skipped off to the WHA. The California Golden Seals were also a victim of the WHA, losing eight key players. Prior to the start of the season, the 1972 Summit Series, which was the first ever meeting between Soviet Union and NHL calibre Canadian ice hockey players, took place. Canada expected to easily beat the Soviets, but were shocked to find themselves with a losing record of one win, two losses, and a tie after four games in Canada. In game four, which Canada lost 5-3, Vancouver fans echoed the rest of Canada's thoughts of Team Canada's poor performance by booing them off the ice. The final four games were played in the Soviet Union. Canada lost game five, but won the last three for a final record of four wins, three losses, and a tie. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup by beating the Chicago Black Hawks four games to two in the finals. No teams in the playoffs swept their opponents, the last time this would happen until 1991. Regular season The Canadiens took over first place in the East Division and the league from the Boston Bruins while for the third straight season the Chicago Black Hawks dominated the West Division. Final standings Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold Scoring leaders Leading goaltenders Stanley Cup playoffs Playoff bracket NHL awards All-Star teams Debuts The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1972-73 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): *Dan Bouchard, Atlanta Flames *Jacques Richard, Atlanta Flames *Jim Schoenfeld, Buffalo Sabres *Phil Russell, Chicago Blackhawks *Robbie Ftorek, Detroit Red Wings *Steve Shutt, Montreal Canadiens *Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens *Bob Nystrom, New York Islanders *Billy Harris, New York Islanders *Steve Vickers, New York Rangers *Bill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers *Jimmy Watson, Philadelphia Flyers *Tom Bladon, Philadelphia Flyers *Denis Herron, Pittsburgh Penguins *Don Lever, Vancouver Canucks Last games The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1972-73 (listed with their last team): *Jacques Plante, Boston Bruins *Pat Stapleton, Chicago Blackhawks *Ralph Backstrom, Chicago Blackhawks *Harry Howell, Los Angeles Kings *Ron Stewart, New York Islanders *Ken Schinkel, Pittsburgh Penguins *Bob Baun, Toronto Maple Leafs *Dave Balon, Vancouver Canucks See also * List of Stanley Cup champions * 1972 NHL Amateur Draft * 1972 NHL Expansion Draft * 26th National Hockey League All-Star Game * National Hockey League All-Star Game * 1972 Summit Series * World Hockey Association * List of WHA seasons References *Hockey Database *NHL.com